Telemarketers and Do-Not-Call List

Before every news organization in Canada gets caught up in the outrage over the national do-not-call list, everyone should be aware of a fake list. This fake list sounds like it is the actual cause of the problems. Click HERE for the story.

So keep in mind that there is a fraudulent do-not-call list, targeting cell phone users when you read the Globe's article, and the hundreds of (mostly) knee-jerk comments posted on their website. The link to the Globe and Mail article is here.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

According to Gloria Galloway, fraudsters have got hold of the national do-not-call list and are calling people deliberately, making the situation worse.

Her premise is illogical, as telemarketers already have a phone book which has even more numbers than the do-not-call list, and obviously has more receptive customers on it. People on a genuine do-not-call list are more hostile than average people in the phone book. However, I can see where people who get fished into a fake do-not-call list may be ripe for the plucking of a telemarketing scam, and therefore the fake list may be attractive to unscrupulous individuals.

A simple way for telemarketers to get phone numbers to call every number in sequence. That would actually produce better results for them than using the national do-not-call list.

Giving the do-not-call list to the telemarketers was the point of making the list, but apparently thousands of people signed up not knowing that.

Giving only a phone number with no name is not dangerous. There is way more personal information in the phone book, which has been around for a long time with no complaint. But beware of any do-not-call list that asks for further personal information.

Did the national do-not-call list work for me? Yes, it did, and for my mother. I used to get a lot, and now rarely get telemarketing calls. If some telemarketers are stupid enough to waste their time, I simply tell them I am on the do not call list. That ends it. And if not, I will ask them for an address and a name to contact the government with the information. If they don't want to give you an address, next time wait till they tell you where to send the money before mentioning the do-not-call list. They are always willing tell you where to send the money.

Why are so many people now getting worried about the national do-not-call list? I think a lot of people who say they never got a telemarketing call before they put their name on the list are on the fake list. They likely got caught by the fraudulent e-mail saying Telus was going to give numbers to telemarketers. By the way, be very suspicious of any email that you get telling you to "e-mail this warning to all your friends." 99 percent of those emails are fake.

This do-not-call system has worked in the US since 2003, and it is working in several other countries including Canada. And the Globe and Mail should be ashamed for slamming the national do-not-call list without looking in to the fraudulent list, and warning people about it.